How to Do an Instagram Takeover (And Why You Should Seriously Consider One)

August 25, 2017 - 4 minutes read

Would you ever hand someone your social media accounts and let them market for you?

Passing your work off to someone else sounds great. But you probably have some reservations about how this would play out.

Fortunately, this is a trusted content creation strategy: the Instagram takeover.

Instagram is all about images and assuming you’re not a photographer, it’s easy for ideas to run dry. There are so many pictures of the office you can post, right? That’s where a fresh perspective can come in, revitalize your Instagram, and get followers excited.

An Instagram takeover can boost awareness, engagement, or conversions. It all depends on your approach.

6 Steps to a Successful Instagram Takeover

1. Choose your guest poster.

First, who will be the lucky guest? Takeovers involve collaboration and both sides benefit from what Gary Vaynerchuck calls a 50/50 value exchange.

Your poster can be a person or another brand. Brands usually feature influencers in their industries. Employee takeovers can also be successful and easier to manage. Consider:

Company or brand

Business partner

Industry Influencer

Team member

Employee

Customer

Community member

Fulbright Korea, a teaching grant program through the US Department of State, does a great job showcasing the diversity of their teachers’ experiences while working abroad.

2. Set the ground rules.

Once you have a guest poster on board, discuss what you expect, including:

Length of takeover (usually 1 week)

Type of content

Frequency of posts

Any required or suggested hashtags

Any off-limit topics or content

Lay out the guidelines clearly and answer any questions your poster may have. You should also decide whether you’ll do a complete takeover or a partial one. In a complete takeover, the guest poster posts directly to your account using your login information. A partial takeover doesn’t require you to give away your account information; the poster sends you content to post on their behalf.

3. Generate buzz.

Promote the takeover beforehand, especially if you have a big name influencer. It’s good etiquette to introduce your guest poster to your followers anyway, so there’s no confusion about the content on your Instagram. Don’t forget to promote through other channels, and ask your guest to do their own promotion too.

4. Launch and monitor.

Once the takeover begins, make sure someone on your team is dedicated to managing comments and feedback.

You may want to have your guest poster respond to comments for a more authentic takeover, but a member of your team should always keep an eye out for any negative feedback or questions.

5. Wrap it up and analyze.

Make it clear to your followers when the takeover has ended. Your poster can point out their final post and you can login after with a public message thanking your guest and asking your followers for their thoughts.